Nickerson News

The weekend was fabulous! Friday night I had a lovely slumber party with my long-time college friends. We stayed up late and chatted as they rubbed my belly all night. Then on Saturday we celebrated Baby Nick’s new little life. I had a wonderful baby shower. I was blown away with everyone’s generosity. I feel so blessed to have some many people from all walks of my life be there to celebrate with me. It was just wonderful! Thank you to everyone who could make it. Baby Nick is very loved! You can take a look at the grand time we had. These were taken by my friend and photographer, Allison Morgan. It is so great to finally have a friend who takes photos. I have always been the photo person wherever we go, so I am thankful she captured the moment.

Here is what is happening this week: baby-gaga.com and pregnancy.org

And in the latest developing reports, your amazing baby has now developed sensitivity to temperature! This means, you’ll probably get a swift kick if you put a hot pad on your ginormous belly. Thanks to their recently matured lungs and a remarkably strong immune system, over 90% of babies born in their 32nd week, survive premature births. So it’s pretty much a done deal. Even if your little monkey’s planning on heading out early, their survival odds are in everyone’s favor. You might notice she’s not moving around as much now. Don’t worry! He is fine — just running short on room. He still has plenty of growing to do though, believe it or not! All five senses are working. Your little one is fascinated and practicing testing these out as much as possible! Toenails are completely formed. Brain scans have shown that babies have periods of dream sleep (REM) starting around the eight month. What do you suppose your son is dreaming about?

I really wish Seth knew how to paint toenails, because trying to give myself a pedicure this weekend was a real challenge.

We had a nice surprise this weekend. Seth’s sister Shauna and friend Elaina came to visit us. It was great to just hang out, drink hot tea, stroll the streets of Old Town Alexandria, play board games and just catch up.

I had my checkup last week and found out I have a few more little “problems” going on with my body. Baby Nick is just fine, it’s his momma that is struggling. Hopefully, they will not turn into anything serious and I will be just fine these last 8 weeks.

Here is what is happening this week: baby-gaga.com

Your not-so-little-one is just a bit closer to their birth weight and height now—at around 4 lbs and 17 inches in length. With each added layer of baby fat their skin starts to look more and more like it will when they finally get to see the light of day. The heavy news: you can expect little miracle-grow to gain about a half a pound of weight gained per week from now until about two weeks before birth. Great. That’s just what you needed. Even more weight to carry around!

Your baby’s still-developing immune system has gained substantial strength over the past few weeks getting them in full gear to face our disease-ridden world o’ wonders. Obviously, a large majority of your child’s immune strength will be derived from exposure to breast milk as well as the outside elements. Their cute little noggin’ (which could already be covered with luscious locks or just peach fuzz), is still soft because the skull bones have not yet fused together. As much as that sounds a little too vulnerable, their “skull softness” allows for a much smoother passage through the birth canal during labor—something both you and your little swimmer will appreciate when it’s finally time to “go!” Also, some babies will have that “soft spot” on their head for up to one year after birth.

YAY! I have hit 30 weeks….9 weeks to go!!! (that is if my little tank comes out on time)

Easter was fabulous. Our church did an amazing job yesterday! Praise the Lord…He is alive! Then we went out to dinner with my lovely family at a place called Charbroiled Grill. Guys in cowboys hats walk around and serve you meat from a sword…you can eat all the meat you want. So needless to say, Seth and my dad ate meat until their hearts were content. I swore Seth smelled like meat the rest of the day.

The weekend was great. We got to see Seth’s Aunt Susan & Uncle Tommy and just a few of their kids. They have 7! They only brought their 3 younger boys…Toby, Tucker and Tanner. (yes, all 7 children’s names start with the letter “T”) I think the boys are finally starting to understand that I am Seth’s wife. When I first met them almost 5 years ago, they didn’t really get it, they just thought I was some random girl. But now they are calling me by name so I think they finally know who I am now.

Then on Saturday we filmed a “renewing of vows/20^th anniversary/wedding”. It was so cute to see this adorable couple who has been married for 20 years and who also has 7 kids, finally have a wedding.

Well, that was a wrap up of my weekend. I started having Braxton Hicks again at the wedding. A few of the women wanted to touch my tummy, and of course I let them. As long as I know you I don’t care. I think it is sweet how excited they get when they put their hands on my stomach. Baby Nick, of course, showed off and kicked away for them. One lady could tell I was having Braxton Hicks and was like, “you better tell your doctor about those, my little girl came 6 weeks early.” Six weeks early! That would only give me 3 weeks left!!!! I can’t even imagine. I need these 9 weeks left.

Here is what is happening this week: pregnancy.org & baby-gaga.com

The light is visible at the end of the tunnel! Your oversized self and amazing growing baby have finally reached the single digits (in terms of weeks till birth)! The fine lanugo hair that has been growing all over their little monkey-like body is going to start falling off this week in preparation for the big day. But don’t be shocked if they’re hairier than you’d anticipated, some babies keep their lanugo until after birth. Still, it’s not any cause to be concerned as it will fall off eventually. No surprises here: your little porker is getting even cuter with increasingly pudgy arms and legs this week thanks to the ever-growing layers of subcutaneous fat. In terms of numbers, they’ll be weighing in at around 3 pounds 12 ounces (or more!) and are nearly 16 inches long. A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds her, but that volume will decrease as she gets bigger and fills out your uterus. Hr eyes open and close, he’s able to distinguish between light and dark, and he can even follow a light source back and forth. Once he’s born, he’ll keep his eyes closed for a good part of the day. When he does open them, he’ll respond to changes in light but will have a visual acuity of only 20/400 — which means he can only make out objects a few inches from his face. (“Normal” vision in adults is 20/20.)

Our mini getaway was fantastic! If you haven’t been to Colonial Beach, you should go. It is this adorable little town on the water. We took well over 200 photos, so here is a mini recap of our weekend.

1) Here is our adorable B&B 2) The sunrise from our room. Oh yes, I did get up at 6:30 in the morning…blame Baby Nick for that one. 3) More sunrise shots 4) Town shots 5) Our B&B Room…isn’t it so cute! 6) Hubby & I outside the the B&B 7) My pregger’s self 8.) Seth being young again 9) More amazing views. Can you believe this is VA! 10 & 11) Me and hubby 12) Sunset photo
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We had a grand time! It was the best “babymoon”. Ok, Baby Nick we are now ready for you.

Here is what is happening this week: pregnancy.org & baby-gaga.com

Your baby now weighs around 2 ½ – 3 pounds and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel. His muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and his head is growing bigger to accommodate his brain — which is busy developing billions of neurons. With this rapid growth, it’s no surprise that your baby’s nutritional needs reach their peak during this trimester.

If you’ve been feeling butterflies moving around in your belly, it’s not just your run-of-the-mill pre-birth performance anxiety. No, it’s your amazing baby with a case of the hiccups: a fairly common occurrence at this point resulting from practicing breathing for their big birthday. In addition, to getting a round of butterfly-like hiccups, your little swimmer has arduously managed to accumulate enough baby fat to account for nearly 3.5% of their overall body weight. Yeah, compared to we adults, it’s not a lot, but when they’re little like that—it’s certainly a healthy (and warming) accomplishment in its way. Another fantastic accomplishment: your baby’s spleen is now in charge of hematopoiesis—the 10 dollar name for the process involved in building up certain important blood components. Another fantastic-accomplishments: Your baby’s head is in proportion with body now. He appears more like a newborn each and every day! Fat continues to accumulate under the skin — only now preparing for entering the *real world*. Your baby’s brain can control primitive breathing and body temperatures. His eyes can move in their sockets. Soon he will be able to follow a blinking light. Your baby is increasingly sensitive to changes in light, sound, taste, and smell! Various studies show that your baby may indicate preferences (or disdain) for particular tastes or odors at this stage He is also moving from side to side, but probably still is head up. In the next few weeks, he will move to the head down birthing position. At times you may feel as if he is performing somersaults for a circus act!